Johnny Morris Institute of Fisheries, Wetlands, and Aquatic Systems

All living things depend on clean and sustainable sources of water.

The University of Missouri has renamed this institute, now called the Johnny Morris Institute of Fisheries, Wetlands and Aquatic Systems, in honor of the commitment Johnny Morris has to conservation.

The MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and its School of Natural Resources, in collaboration with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation (MCHF), created the Morris Institute, the first of its kind in the United States, through a public-private partnership in March 2023.

Missouri, the ideal location for a fisheries institute

+ Nearly 1.4 million anglers fish in Missouri waters each year + About 1 in 10 Missourians between the ages of 16 and 64 enjoy fishing annually + Missouri anglers fish approximately 16 million days annually, account for over $1.2 billion in economic output and support 9,510 jobs + In 2019, Missouri received over $8.2 million from excise taxes appropriated though the Sportfish Restoration Act to support fisheries projects and aquatic education.

Missouri boasts:

  • An amazing variety of world-class fishing opportunities available to the average citizen, from reservoirs and streams, to rivers, lakes and ponds
  • A diverse array of aquatic systems from prairie streams to large rivers; from farm ponds to major reservoirs
  • A wide variety of landscapes in which to conduct research that has far-reaching implications
  • The University of Missouri and the US Geological Survey Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, both with expanding water, wetlands and fisheries expertise
Fish in hand